Master
by an-angel-in-hell
Summary: Yoda asks Siri to take a Padawan, but she's not so sure about the idea. More of a JQ fic than a JA one, some spoilers for Path to Truth. Oneshot.


Master

Summary: Yoda tells Siri to take a Padawan, but she's not so sure about the idea. More of a JQ fic than a JA one.

Note: this doesn't take place during the Jedi Apprentice series, but during Jedi Quest, between Path to Truth and The Way of the Apprentice. And I haven't read further than Trail of the Jedi (I've not read Last of the Jedi yet either), so sorry if this contradicts anything said later on.

And speaking of JQ, does anyone know where I can get hold of the third and fourth books? They seem to be out of print and also ridiculously expensive (the third one anyway, I haven't looked at prices for the fourth). I'm reluctant to pay more than twenty bucks, and the cheapest I've seen is around forty (!!!).

-

I'd been feeling restless lately, just hanging around the Temple. Rather than meditate on the feeling, I'd decided to see if some lightsaber practice would help. Upon reaching the practice room, I saw that some other Knights had set up an impromptu sparring tournament, and they invited me to join. I accepted, and ended up beating most of them. I walked away tired, but still feeling unfulfilled.

As I was leaving the practice room, I almost walked right into Yoda.

"Sorry, Master." I muttered, blushing.

"Distracted you were, hmm?" he asked. "Be aware of your surroundings at all times, you should."

It was the sort of advice initiates were often given, and it only heightened my embarrassment. "Yes Master, I know."

Yoda looked up at me for a moment. "Going anywhere are you?"

"No, Master. Well, I was going to get some lunch, but-"

"Wait, it can?"

"I guess so."

He nodded. "Good. Speak with you, I would," he said, reentering the room I had just left. I followed.

We took a seat on one of the benches around the edge of the room. Yoda was silent, watching the group of initiates who'd come in for sparring practice. I knew better than to press him, so I sat patiently until he spoke.

"Take a Padawan you should."

I suppressed a groan. I should have seen this coming. "No Master, I don't think that's a good idea."

"So certain are you?"

"Yes Master."

"Impatient, you are lately. Discontented. Help that, having a Padawan would."

"I don't think I'd be a very good role model, Master."

"Said the same, have many Knights. Go on to train successful Padawans, they did."

I thought that spoke more in favor of Yoda's persuasiveness than anything else, but aloud I said nothing.

After a moment passed without a reply from me, Yoda went on. "Promising, that one is," he said, indicating one of the initiates fighting near us, a male human of about twelve.

I looked closer, and, realizing who it was, had to bite my lip to keep from laughing aloud. "Ferus Olin?" I asked.

Yoda was certainly right- he _was_ promising- even I had heard of him. One of the most talented initiates the Temple had seen in years, it was a wonder he hadn't been chosen already. As it was, I knew he had a few Knights and Masters interested in him. All the initiates idolized him.

"Master, I don't think I'd be the best choice to train him." I said.

"So sure you are?"

I nodded. "He needs a master like- well, like Obi-Wan. Someone rule abiding and traditional."

"Traditional, Ferus is already. Learn more from you, he would."

I blinked. Was Yoda telling me to corrupt the Temple's golden boy? "I don't think…"

"Remind me of another initiate of years ago, he does." Yoda said. "Promising, she was. Rule abiding and dedicated, as was her Master. Then grow up she did, and disillusioned with life she was. Hurt her, I think it did."

Yoda's voice had become gentler, and I felt relief sweeping through me. He understood. I had wondered if anyone did. Going undercover had, indeed, effectively skewered my perception of the galaxy and destroyed all my ideals. I'd felt rather lost upon getting back, and, over a year later, I was still feeling the effects.

"Save Ferus from that, you could," he said. "Thought about it, I have. A good match, you are. Balance each other out, you do."

"I'll consider it, Master." I said.

-

I did think about it. For two weeks, in fact. I brought it up once to Obi-Wan and Bant, but they just smiled and said that a Padawan would be good for me. I tried to tell them my deeper concerns, but found that I couldn't. I didn't want to burden my friends with my problems, anyway.

There was one person I knew I could confide in. Despite the fact that my former Master wasn't exactly warm and comforting, I'd always felt comfortable talking to her. She'd nothing but supportive of me in my youth, and I missed that. But I was a Knight now. I couldn't go running to my Master with my worries, because I didn't have a Master anymore.

And so I was surprised and pleased when I opened my door one night and saw Adi standing there.

"I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me," she said. "I cooked. It should be quite good."

"I'd love to," I said, smiling.

We returned to her quarters, and I got a whiff of what she was cooking.

"Mm. It smells delicious."

"I think it should be. It's just some pasta, but it's a seafood sauce…" she went on, telling me where she'd found the recipe, et cetera. Adi loved to cook- something most people were surprised to find out. It didn't fit with the outward image she projected- the calm, serene, dedicated Jedi Master.

We ate. The food was excellent, as always. Adi only cooked extravagant meals when she wanted to talk about something, so after we had chatted for a few minutes, I decided to see what it was.

"Was there something you wanted to discuss with me, Master?" I asked.

Adi sighed. "You saw right through me, didn't you?"

I grinned. "Sorry."

She shook her head, smiling back at me. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. It's just that Yoda mentioned to me that he'd asked you to consider taking a Padawan."

"Is that how he put it?" I asked dryly.

Adi gave me a mildly reprimanding look. "Yes, well. He said you had doubts."

I sighed. "I guess so. I mean, maybe a Padawan would be good for me. But Yoda's asked me to consider Ferus Olin, and I don't think that we'd be a good fit. Yoda insists otherwise, of course."

"What's wring with Ferus? He's very talented."

"I know. But I don't understand why Yoda thinks we'd be well matched."

"While you were undercover, I taught an initiates' saber class. Ferus was in it, years ahead of the other children his age. Even then he had emerged as quite a promising student, but he had a surprising amount of humility. He wasn't cocky or over sure."

I shrugged. "Humility is part of being a Jedi."

"Yes, but how many ten year old initiates aren't proud when they're skilled at something? Most younger Padawans, even, still exhibit those traits. But Ferus was surprisingly mature."

"So he's practically perfect in every way." I grumbled, looking down at my plate.

"He reminds me of you at that age."

I looked up in surprise. "Me? I was a little brat at twelve!"

"You were young, but you were dedicated and talented. And you matured quickly." Adi gave me an appraising look. "You'd be a good Master for him."

I shook my head. "No I wouldn't. I know that I'm not the only one considering him. And he… he deserves a Master like you, or like Obi-Wan… not like me."

Adi smiled. "But Siri… that only proves that _you_ would be the best choice. You care. That's what sets you apart from the other Knights and Masters who are thinking about taking him as their Padawan. You don't just see him as a promising student. You care about him as a person. And that's what proves you'd be best for him."

-

Another week passed as I tried vainly to decide what to do about the whole situation. I half hoped that, during my delay, someone else would choose him. But the days passed, and no one did.

I decided to meditate on it, something I did rarely. I preferred to solve my problems with common sense and reasoning rather than meditation. But I figured that I needed all the guidance I could get, and it couldn't possibly hurt.

I went to the Room of a Thousand Fountains and found a quiet patch of grass away from the center of the room. I don't know how long I sat there, but I after a period of time, I sensed another presence in the Force, waiting for me. It was Yoda. I came out of meditation.

"Stop on my account, do not."

I shrugged. "It wasn't helping anyway."

Yoda gave me a disparaging look. "Concerned you must be, if meditate on your feelings you do." I began to protest, but he silenced me. "Remember what you were like as a youngling, I do."

I blushed slightly, remembering the impatient child I'd been. "I'm still trying to decide about Ferus." I said.

Yoda nodded. "Knew that, I did. Make a decision soon, you must."

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Turn thirteen in one month, Ferus will. Make a decision soon, you must, or else a Padawan Ferus will not become."

_Such a waste!_ I thought, but then common sense intervened. "But Master, surely I can't be the only one considering him?"

"Decided not to train him, others have."

I was stunned. "But- why? Who wouldn't want to train him?"

"Decide that it would not be a good match, they did." Yoda looked at me seriously. "Ferus' last chance of becoming a Jedi, you are."

-

There was really only one thing I could do after that. Maybe I wasn't the best choice for him, true. But if the only way Ferus was going to become a Jedi was to be trained by me…

It only took a couple inquires to find out his class schedule, and I finally tracked him down as he was coming out of one of the training rooms with a few other initiates. They all headed down the hall toward their quarters, but he continued on in my direction, towards the Room of a Thousand Fountains.

I called his name, and he turned to me.

"Good afternoon, Knight Tachi," he said politely.

Despite having been a Knight for almost a year and a half, hearing myself called by the title was still a bit of a novelty, and I smiled a little. "Good afternoon." I replied.

We stood there in silence for a moment, me trying to get my courage up and he too polite to interrupt. I'd imagined that I would come up with some casual, maybe even cavalier way to ask him, but for the life of me I couldn't think of a blasted thing. I took a deep breath, more nervous than I'd care to admit- and almost certainly more nervous than he was. "You're turning thirteen in a few weeks, right?"

Now he knew for sure what I was going to ask, but he didn't display any of the excitement I had when Adi had approached me when I was eleven, or the relief I'd expected to see. He simply nodded.

"It would be a pity for you to just get sent off to the Exploration Corps or something." I remarked.

"There is no shame in service to the Order, however it is rendered." Ferus replied seriously.

_Bit of a stiff,_ I thought. _Then again, I'd have said the same at his age- it's what any initiate would say. But not many of them mean it._ I could tell, though, that he did. It only increased my respect for him.

"Well." I said, smiling now. "How would you like to 'render service to the Order' as my Padawan?"

He wasn't surprised. I hadn't expected him to be. But he broke into a huge grin nonetheless. "I would be honored," he said.

_This is the start of something big,_ I thought. _I guess Yoda was right after all._

_We are well matched._

-

Reviews? o.0 I don't know if it's really that good… but I liked the idea.


End file.
